Equifax Lock & Alert: Block Access to Equifax Credit Report for Free

Posted on March 26, 2018 // 8 Comments

eq_lock2In case you missed it (as I did), Equifax extended their credit freeze fee waivers through June 30th, 2018. A credit freeze is regulated by your state, and generally prevents access to your credit reports to open new credit accounts. To unfreeze, you must notify them directly by mail/phone/website and provide a 10-digit PIN. However, unless there is new legislation, eventually state-specific fees will apply.

Equifax also rolled out Lock & Alert, which allows you to instantly lock and unlock access to your Equifax credit report. A lock also generally prevents access to your credit reports to open new credit accounts. One difference is that this service is run by Equifax and not regulated by the government. The benefit is that you can lock/unlock instantly via website, iOS app, or Android app. Equifax also promises that this feature will be free forever. Embedded below is their explainer video:

Exceptions. The following places may still access your credit report even if frozen/locked:

  • Companies like Equifax Global Consumer Solutions that provide you with access to your credit report or credit score or monitor your credit file
  • Companies you have an existing account or relationship with
  • Federal, state and local government agencies
  • Collection agencies acting on behalf of companies you owe
  • For fraud detection purposes
  • Companies that wish to make pre-approved offers of credit or insurance to you
  • Companies reviewing your application for employment

My experience. I installed the Lock & Alert app and it’s pretty barebones. Basically a toggle switch with no additional features. To sign up, you’ll need your Social Security number but no credit card is required. The “Alert” part doesn’t mean they tell you if someone tried to check your Equifax report, it just means they’ll let you know when it is locked and unlocked. I was a little confused by that part. Why do I need an alert for something that only I can activate/deactivate?

The recommended practice is to keep it locked by default and then unlock temporarily when you apply for a mortgage, credit card, car loan, or some bank/credit union accounts. I personally prefer using locks over freezes, but am disappointed that it took so long for such a simple feature to be rolled out to consumers.

TransUnion has a similar service called TrueIdentity with free locks. Experian offers locks only as part of their $19.99/month credit monitoring plan. I guess we’ll have to wait until (our information stored on) Experian servers get hacked too, and then maybe they’ll be so kind as to allow us free access.

Bottom line. I plan on using the Equifax instant lock/unlock feature. You may still want to consider a freeze. I think consumers should get both locks and freezes for free from all three credit bureaus as it is our information they are selling and we are the ones impacted if it is incorrect or hacked.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Amazon Prime + American Express Promotion: Fire Tablets from $20

Posted on March 22, 2018 // 5 Comments

fire7Updated. Here’s a targeted deal for Amazon Prime members that also have American Express Membership Rewards points. First, all Amazon Prime members can get the following prices today (20% off all Alexa-enabled devices):

However, if you have American Express Rewards, first link your American Express card to Amazon. Then check eligibility here for up to a $40 discount when you pay with at least one AmEx point. The final prices would be:

Finally, here is another targeted coupon link that checks your eligibility to save $30 off $60 at Amazon when you buy anything (not just Fire Tablets) with Membership Rewards points. You may have done this older offer already, but the expiration has been extended if you missed it.

Be sure to select your linked American Express card as payment method, select the option to Pay with Points (you can use just 1 point), and apply the promo code to trigger the discount.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

NYT Financial Tuneup Day 5: Your Credit Reports

Posted on March 6, 2018 // 3 Comments

nyt_ftuDay 5 of the NY Times 7-Day Financial Tuneup is about your credit reports. (Yes, I’ve been taking this at my own pace. Sign up for your own personalized tune-up here.) This one felt a bit basic, so I also recommended a bunch of additional sites that are hopefully also helpful. Let’s start with a summary of what the NYT says:

  1. Understand what your credit report means. Your credit report includes data on your credit card payment history, mortgages, student debt, new loan applications, and bankruptcies.
  2. Get a copy of your credit report. AnnualCreditReport.com is the official government-mandated site. You can get one of each of the three major bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) once every 12 months, so one tactic is to stagger them every 4 months.
  3. Check for errors. You can dispute errors using sample letters from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Instructions are included for disputes with both the credit bureau and the lender.
  4. Improve your habits, if needed. Credit repair 101… Pay your bills on time. Keep card balances well below your credit limit.
    Hold off on opening new accounts for a while.
  5. Freeze your credit. The NYT says that it is “generally a good idea” to freeze your credit. You will have you unfreeze your credit next time you apply for a credit card, try to rent an apartment, apply for a mortgage or do anything else where a company may need your credit report. You may need to spend $5 to $10 each time as well.

More free consumer data reports. I would also add my Big List of Free Consumer Reports, Part 1 and Part 2 if you want a complete picture including things like rental history or insurance reports.

My take on credit freezes. Freezing your credit may be a reasonable step if you rarely do anything that would require a thaw. However, between my wife and I, we probably get 10 credit pulls a year. (Don’t worry, zero credit card debt, zero car loan, zero mortgage debt. Credit score is still good too.) Every time I apply for a new credit card or join a new credit union, I might would have to thaw and then re-freeze the bureau, and that’s if I already know ahead of time which one of the three I need to thaw. That adds up to both a lot of time and money.

I would add a free credit monitoring service instead. A timely example – just yesterday on March 5th I decided to apply for a new credit union membership at Sharonview Federal Credit Union. Some preliminary research indicated that they would probably pull a credit report (probably TransUnion), but I wasn’t sure. After making the application, I was notified right away by multiple free credit monitoring services that it was TransUnion (and only them). I’m writing this post on March 6th. If a credit freeze had blocked their check, I would have to manually ask them to check again, which would have delayed my application on a limited-time offer.

Here’s a screenshot of my free alert from CreditSesame.com:

nyt_cs_sharon

Here’s a screenshot of my free alert from CreditKarma.com:

nyt_ck_sharon

I think you’ll agree that the ability to receive a free alert within a day is a lot better than checking in at most once every 4 months. CreditSesame tracks TransUnion, and CreditKarma tracks both TransUnion and Equifax. There are other options and most are advertising-supported, so you’ll see ads for mortgages and credit cards on the site. There may also be some “premium” features they try to upsell you, but I’ve never had to pay a cent.

Financial Tuneup Recap (still in progress)

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Frugal Living, Goals //

NYT Financial Tuneup Day 3: Apply For a Better Credit Card

Posted on February 22, 2018 // 5 Comments

nyt_ftuDay 3 of my NY Times 7-Day Financial Tuneup is called Find the Best Credit Card for You. (Sign up for your own personalized tune-up for full details.) The key again is to actually apply for a better card, not just think about it and then keep your old card with lukewarm rewards and/or high interest rates.

Scenario 1: Carrying a balance

If you are still working on paying down your credit card balance, the NYT (surprise!) recommends a credit card with a low interest rate and fees. The average credit card interest rate is something like 17% APR, which is simply nuts. Ignore cashback and rewards credit cards, as they have higher interest rates in general that will overwhelm any potential rewards. The NYT specifically mentions the following cards:

  • Simmons Bank Platinum Visa has a lower variable APR (currently 9.5%) with no balance transfer. This might be a better solution if you plan on carrying a balance forever (why?!?).
  • Discover it Secured credit card improves your credit score (and thus perhaps your interest rates) as it will help build a positive credit history with no annual fee. You can have poor credit as a $200 security deposit is required for a $200 credit line.

If you’re going to apply for a new card, I prefer the following cards with 0% introductory APRs with no balance transfer fee. Here, the plan would be to consolidate balances and design a plan to pay it all off within the promotional period. After that, the rates will shoot back up again unless you do another balance transfer.

Scenario 2: No credit card debt

If you do pay off your balances every month, then you can ignore interest rates and focus on getting points, miles, or cash back on your purchases. The NYT specifically mentions the following cards.

  • Citi Double Cash card for simple cash back. It pays “1 percent back when you make the purchase and another 1 percent when you pay the bill. The best part? There’s no need for you to track points or decide when to cash out. The money comes back to you automatically.”
  • Bank of America Travel Rewards Card for simple travel rewards with no annual fee.
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred for those that collect airline miles and know how to use them efficiently.

Your goal with your new card should be to get all of the rewards you can just for spending as much as you normally would.

I’m giving the NYT an overall thumbs-up on these recommendations for most people. However, I would only recommend the Bank of America Travel Rewards card if you can participate in their Preferred Rewards program and reach the Platinum (2.25% back towards travel) or Platinum Honors (2.62% back towards travel) tiers. Otherwise, the Citi Double Cash is better than 1.5% back.

The hard part: Actually applying for a new card! The reason why there are so many juicy incentives for credit cards is that most people still don’t like to bother with applying for a new card. Change can be hard. If you’ve been thinking about making a switch, let today be the day!

Financial Tuneup Recap (still in progress)

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Goals, Insurance //

Discover Card + Amazon 1-Click $10 Promotion

Posted on February 13, 2018 // 9 Comments

Updated. It looks like this offer is back as of February 2018. I was able to get another $10 credit even though I already got the previous $10 credit back in September. I still had the Discover card as my default 1-click payment method, but I did change to a Chase card right before clicking on the promo link below (not sure if that made any difference).

Original post:

discover10az

Amazon has a targeted offer for $10 Amazon credit when you switch your 1-Click default payment method to an eligible Discover credit card. They’ve run similar offers for Citi and Chase in the past.

The link should show your eligibility (for the account that is currently signed-in). It probably won’t work if your 1-click default method is already Discover. You could try and remove it first. I had a Discover card already in my account, but not set as 1-click, and it worked for me. $10 credit valid on items both sold and shipped by Amazon.

If you have a Discover card, you may also want to sign up for their free Social Security Number Monitoring and New Account Alerts. I keep my Discover it card open for its rotating 5% cash back rewards.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Affirm: Immediate Gratification + Hiding The Pain of Paying Upfront

Posted on February 7, 2018 // 20 Comments

200jeans

Here is an interesting longform Racked article about Affirm micro-loans. Now, instead of (gasp!) saving up for a few months before paying cash for those $200 jeans, you could have them today for $235. It’s basically credit card debt for people who previously couldn’t get approved for a credit card. Hurray for innovation.

Sure, it may be more transparent and convenient, but here’s the real reason why you’ll soon see it everywhere:

Affirm is not just meeting a demand, but creating one, encouraging shoppers to buy and spend more. Affirm claims an average 75 percent boost in order values across all its merchant partners. Affirm is clearly not just facilitating purchases that would have otherwise happened through other means of credit. Four retailers I spoke with reported significantly higher sales, and more frequent purchases, with Affirm customers.

Saving for retirement is a form of delayed gratification. You could buy buy $235 jeans today, $200 jeans after saving up a few month, or you could invest it and wait 20, 30, 40 years down the road and be able to afford housing, food, and medical care when you’re old. Even if you’re a crazed fanatic like me with a 50% savings rate, you might wait 10 to 15 years before actually being able to “spend” the money you put away.

How can we avoid debt when it means immediate gratification? No easy answers here, but looking back, I used to check my net worth all the time. It’s hard to call that a healthy habit, but then again it did provide a form of immediate pleasure from saving $200 instead of spending it. I liked seeing the number go up. Mentally, I also knew I could use that money as a cushion if I wanted to try a new career path. In that way, having more money in the bank meant more freedom now, not just later.

Added: Dave Ramsey is famous for helping people out of debt, and one of his main tips is to pay cash for everything. At a minimum, use a debit card. (You could even “Debitize” your credit card.) That way, you feel the appropriate pain of each purchase. When you put things on a credit card with the idea of paying “later”, you are hiding that pain. $20 a month feels a lot easier than $200 upfront. This is why Affirm customers end up buying more stuff than cash buyers (on top of paying interest).

Filed Under: Credit Cards //

PenFed Power Cash Rewards Visa Card: 2% Cash Back With Military Service or Checking Account

Posted on January 25, 2018 // Leave a Comment

penfedpower

Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed), the 3rd largest US credit union by assets, launched the PenFed Power Cash Rewards Visa Card in 2017. This credit card offers up to 2% flat cash back with no earning caps and no annual fee. Here are the highlights:

  • Sign-up bonus: $100 statement credit when you spend $1,500 in the first 90 days.
  • 2% cash back on all purchases with PenFed Honors Advantage (qualifying military service or PenFed checking account, details below). Otherwise, you get 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
  • No annual fee.
  • 0% Intro APR on balance transfers for 12 months. 3% balance transfer fee.
  • No foreign transaction fees.

PenFed Honors Advantage requires either of the following:

  • Military service (active, reserve, retired, or honorably discharged).
  • Checking account. Have and maintain a PenFed Access America Checking Account. This account has no monthly fee with daily balance or monthly direct deposit of $500 or more. $25 minimum opening deposit. As long as the account is open, you qualify for the 2% cash back.

In other words, if you don’t have military service, opening and keeping $500 in their Access America Checking Account will keep you qualified without a direct deposit or minimum activity requirements.

Cash back redemption options. Your cash back rewards can be redeemed as a statement credit, a deposit into a PenFed account, or a deposit into an external bank account. Simple.

Competition. The following cards currently offer a competitive level of cash back rewards. Some offer higher rewards, but with additional requirements and/or an annual fee. Please read my card-specific reviews for details.

PenFed CU membership eligibility. Check out their eligibility tool. If you have a military affiliation, chances are that you can join immediately. However, anyone in the general public can also gain access by first joining either the National Military Family Association or Voices for America’s Troops. Both of these partner organizations can be joined with a one-time donation of $17.

Bottom line. The PenFed Power Cash Rewards Visa Card offers 2% flat cash back on all purchases with no annual fee. There is currently a $100 sign-up bonus if you make $1,500 in purchases within the first 90 days. PenFed Credit Union membership is required, but is also open to anyone willing to donate $17 to the National Military Family Association (NMFA).

If you already have one of the other 2% cash back cards available with less requirements, this may not warrant an additional credit check and new bank account. However, PenFed does offer good customer service and other financial products. You might consider making them your primary banking institution if you live near PenFed branches (often near military bases).

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Debitize: Will Making Your Credit Card Feel Like Debit Help You Budget? ($10 Bonus)

Posted on January 23, 2018 // 2 Comments

debitizeappIn our increasingly cashless world, I prefer to use credit cards over debit cards for a few reasons:

  • Credit cards usually have better cash back, points, or rewards programs.
  • Credit cards have additional features like free checked bags, extended warranties, and price drop protection.
  • Credit cards have more consumer protections explicitly required by federal law.
  • Having a certain amount of revolving credit card usage with a good payment history improves your credit score.

A major benefit of debit cards is that it feels more like “cash”, so it can be easier to control your spending. When you make a debit card purchase, your bank balance is immediately reduced so you know much money you have left. If this helps your manage your cashflow, it can help you avoid credit card debt. Indeed, if you try to buy something with a debit card and your bank account has a zero balance, the purchase will be rejected (depending on your specific settings, some banks allow small overdrafts).

debitize1

Debitize is a new start-up that makes your existing credit card feel more like a debit card. I had no idea this was a thing. Apparently they were profiled by the NY Times. Basically, you link up both your credit card and bank account, and they will match up your credit card purchases and take the same amount out of your checking account on a daily basis (weekdays). The money accumulates in your Debitize Reserve Account, and then they pay off your credit card bill when it is due each month.

We initiate withdrawals once a day on weekday mornings. Typically it takes one more day to hit your checking account. So if you go to the movies on Tuesday night, we’ll initiate the withdrawal on Wednesday morning and you will see the funds out of your checking account on Thursday.

You keep your existing credit card. This means you get to keep all the credit card perks like cash back, airline miles, hotel points, free checked bags, etc. You can still do credit card fraud disputes, refunds, etc.

You keep your existing bank account. You can set a minimum balance that Debitize will never go below so you won’t get hit with any overdraft or low-balance fees, or you may want a buffer for some other reason. Debitize will send you an alert if you hit this minimum balance.

Debitize has a freemium pricing model. The basic functionality is free. They take money out your bank account daily, but only pay the credit card company once a month at the due date. There is also a $3/month Credit Optimizer tier that pays off your credit card balance once every week so that your credit utilization ratio is lower and thus your credit score is higher.

My take? I can see why people would want this feature. Credit card perks. Free. I think Debitize is best for folks that have a handle on their debt, but prefer the feel of debit cards for better day-to-day budgeting.

I think the primary drawback is the added complexity. If someone has problems with credit card balances, they might do better with more simplicity. Focus on paying down that debt. Stick with the plain debit card with no rewards (and no option to carry a balance). In fact, one might go all the way back to physical cash where possible.

Debitize is offering a $10 credit for new customers towards your credit card bill. You must wait until at least 5 automated withdrawals from your checking account have been processed. I am a member of their affiliate program and will also receive a referral fee if you qualify for this bonus.

$10 credit will be applied to your Debitize account and paid towards your credit card bill as long as you have been active long enough to have at least five automated withdrawals. We really just want you to give us a real try — if you do and don’t think Debitize is for you, just shoot us a note.

Filed Under: Banking, Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

XKCD on Credit Card Reward Optimization

Posted on October 29, 2017 // 4 Comments

XKCD has some clever observations about the pursuit of credit card rewards:

xkcdccrewards

I definitely spend more time thinking about optimizing things than is… optimal? rational? That’s why I started a website, so I can justify it as a business pursuit! 🙂 Here’s another good one from XKCD:

efficiency

Don’t forget the time cost of “Arguing with strangers on internet about A vs B”.

Final mention: XKCD Remix: The Secret Life of Personal Finance Bloggers.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Funny //

California Residents: Southwest Credit Card Companion Pass Shortcut Offer

Posted on October 19, 2017 // 4 Comments

Southwest Premier Credit Card ArtIf you are a California resident, check out this special offer on the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Card that provides a shortcut to the SWA Companion Pass:

  • Plus Consumer (CA Only), $69 annual fee, 40,000 point bonus
  • Premier Consumer (CA Only),$99 annual fee, 40,000 point bonus
  • Premier Business (CA Only), $99 annual fee, 60,000 point bonus

The Companion Pass lets a designated person fly with you for free on all your Southwest flights – both paid and award flights! (You must still cover taxes and fees from $5.60 one-way.) Usually, you have to fly 100 qualifying one-way flights or earn 110,000 Rapid Rewards points within a calendar year in order to qualify. However, this special offer lets you get it after applying for a new card and making a single purchase of any amount.

Here are some additional things to consider:

  • How California residency is determined: “Individual must have a valid California address as evidenced by their application for the Rapid Rewards® Credit Card.” PO Boxes are not allowed as billing addresses. You should probably have the same billing address on your Rapids Rewards account.
  • You must open the card by 11/30/17, and allow up to 8 weeks after your first purchase to receive the Companion Pass. The pass will be valid until 12/31/18.
  • Chase has a rule that they will automatically deny approval on this credit card if you have 5 or more new credit cards from any issuer on your credit report within the past 2 years (aka the 5/24 rule).
  • Not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any Rapid Rewards Credit Card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any Rapid Rewards Credit Card who received a new cardmember bonus for a Rapid Rewards Credit Card within the last 24 months.
  • Rapid Rewards® points won’t expire as long as your card is open or you have flight-earning or partner-earning activity at least once every 24 months.
  • You must still pay the annual fees of $69 or $99, depending on the card.

Southwest recently announced that they plan to start flying to Hawaii, but the flights probably won’t be until late 2018 or early 2019. Therefore, you might try to time your purchases so that you get the 40,000/60,000 point bonus in 2018 as part of a larger plan to earn 110,000 points throughout 2018 and get another Companion Pass good through the end of 2019.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Practical Advice on Identity Theft and Removing Unauthorized Accounts

Posted on September 27, 2017 // 6 Comments

bankshowerThe boilerplate advice I keep reading at the end of every article about the Equifax hack is… Everybody freeze their credit! That certainly is an option, but perhaps it might be overkill to expect 150 million people to do that? The credit reporting agencies seem to make it an painful experience on purpose, charging you $10 a pop x 3 bureaus for freezing/thawing. Some good news: Equifax just announced a new free instant lock/unlock feature, which probably wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for this breach.

For a more practical perspective, I recommend bookmarking the post Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You by Patrick McKenzie. He has real-world experience in helping others deal with the credit bureaus and navigating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). My notes:

  • You don’t need to do anything just because your data was leaked or might have been leaked and nothing has actually happened.
  • Don’t pay money for credit monitoring.
  • If you find unauthorized charges on an credit card you opened yourself, just call your bank or card issuer. This shouldn’t be a big headache.
  • If you find an account NOT opened by yourself, either due to fraud or some sort of clerical error, then read the entire post for detailed instructions. You need to create a paper trail because this could easily turn into a big headache.

A lot of nuance is covered and sample text is helpfully included, such as:

On August 5th, 20XX I accessed my credit report from Experian, numbered 1234567. It shows an account with your institution in my name, with account number XXX123. I am unaware of the full account number. I have no knowledge of this account. I did not open it or authorize anyone to open it.

Please correct this tradeline and confirm this to me in writing within the timeframe specified by law. If you cannot correct this tradeline, provide me with your written justification for why your investigation concluded that this tradeline was accurate.

Here are some important things to note if you have to deal directly with a financial institution regarding an unauthorized account:

  • Do not call. Communicate only via written letters sent by postal mail to their official address. Create a paper trail. Keep a scan/copy of everything.
  • Never pay debt which isn’t yours, even if you are being harassed.
  • Never speak to debt collectors on the phone, either. Just ask for their address and hang up so you can communicate in writing. You are not breaking any laws if you hang up on them.
  • You can do this. In his experience, most issues were resolved after 2-3 letters send via certified mail/return receipt.

Filed Under: Banking, Credit Cards //

Equifax Hack Check Tool, Free Year of Identity Theft Protection and Credit Monitoring

Posted on September 7, 2017 // 23 Comments

equifaxlogoEquifax announced that they were hacked between May-July 2017, exposing the personal information of potentially over 143 million people. As one of the three major credit bureaus, they have a lot of data: credit card numbers, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and driver’s license numbers. Essentially, everything you need for identity fraud.

Equifax has a Potential Impact Tool that lets you check if they believe your information has been exposed. You must provide your last name and the last six digits of your Social Security number. It seems that unless they say “you’re not affected”, then you should assume you were affected. No matter what, they are offering everyone a free year of Equifax TrustedID Premier service, which includes:

  • 3-Bureau credit monitoring of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion credit reports
  • copies of your Equifax credit report
  • the ability to lock and unlock your Equifax credit report
  • identity theft insurance
  • Internet scanning for Social Security numbers

They’ll give you a date and you’ll need to come back to activate. I suppose they need to make a queue with that many new “customers”. Equifax also set up a dedicated call center at 866-447-7559, open 7 days a week, 7am–1am Eastern time.

So the business that gets to collect all my personal data (and then charge me for a credit score based on that data) lost my data, and as an apology gives me a temporary subscription to their own identity protection service (which people pay for because… their data gets hacked). Does anyone else feel like there needs to be more of an incentive not to get hacked? This benefit only lasts for a year, so you may want to sign up for other free credit monitoring services. Also see the Big List of Free Consumer Reports on how to get a free full copy of your credit and other consumer reports.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //
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